scope:

This Standard applies to the material of construction, the physical integrity, and the labelling requirements of biohazardous and cytotoxic medical sharps containers.

This Standard applies to medical sharps containers intended for single use.

This Standard specifies test criteria for the evaluation of the following characteristics of sharps containers:

a) puncture resistance;

b) thermal integrity during exposure to high temperature steam sterilization;

c) colour-coding, labelling, and symbols;

d) fill capacity; and

e) physical integrity of containment.

Specific test criteria for cytotoxic sharps containers are included.

This Standard applies only to containers for medical sharps contaminated with biohazardous or cytotoxic agents.

This Standard does not address deliberate or accidental access to sharps within containers. This aspect of safety and security should be considered when the containers are selected for use in non-controlled environments. The sharps container should be designed and manufactured in a way that protects its handler from being harmed by the container's contents during normal use, transportation, and disposal.

The values given in SI (metric) units are the standard. Where values are given in parentheses, they are for information only.